The role of place attachment in proactive and reactive adaptation to flood risk

Quinn, Tara (2014) The role of place attachment in proactive and reactive adaptation to flood risk. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

This! research! examines! the! role!of! relationship! with! place! in! reactive!and!
proactive! adaptation! to! flood! risk! in! England.! There! is! currently! little!
research! into! how! floods! affect! relationship! with! place! and! how! this!
relationship! may! determine! adaptive! behaviour.! As! the! social! limits! to!
adaptation! are! increasingly! recognised,! theories! about! relationship! with!
place!offer!a!new!perspective!as!to!how!flood!risk!is!interpreted!and!acted!
on.! This! research! examines! how! place! attachment! and! place! meaning!
interacts!with!flood!risk!at!the!household!and!community!scale,!and!the!role!
of!place!attachment!in!involvement!in!adaptation!planning!decisions.!
!
Fieldwork!took!place!in!two!locations,!Cumbria,!where!adaptation!measures!
were!in!response!to!flooding!that!occurred!in!2009!and!Barnes,!an!area!that!
is! at! risk! of! flooding! and! is! part! of! the! Thames! Estuary! 2100! plan! that!
addresses!flood!risk!in!the!coming!century.!Place!attachment,!place!meaning,!
social! capital! and! trust! in! institutions! were! examined! using! faceQtoQface!
surveys!(n=380).!In!order!to!gain!a!deeper!understanding!of!the!relationship!
between! place! and! flood! experience! inQdepth! interviews!were! carried! out!
with!fourteen!older!adults!in!Cumbria.!!
!
The! study! finds! that! place! attachment! predicts! choices! and! behaviours! in!
proQactive!adaptation!to!flood!risk.!When!adaptation!is!reactive!the!strength!
of! the! relationship! between! adaptation! behaviour! and! place! attachment!
weakens.! Following! a! flood,! place! related! meanings! change,! this! research!
finds! that! social!aspects!of!place!become!more! important! to! the! individual!
and! shape! how! place! is! experienced! and! can! act! to! increase! adaptive!
capacity.! ! These! findings! demonstrate! the! dynamic! nature! of! relationship!
with! place! and! suggest! that! place! attachment! plays! a! different! role! in!
involvement!in!adaptation!decisions!depending!on!whether!behaviour!is!in!
anticipation!of,!or!in!reaction!to,!environmental!risk.!!

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
Depositing User:	Users 2259 not found.
Date Deposited:	09 Jul 2014 11:48
Last Modified:	09 Jul 2014 11:48
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/49467
DOI:

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